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Classification: Mood stabilizer. Common usage: Lithium is indicated for the treatment of bipolar disorder (manic depression) in adults and in children aged 12 and older. The safety and effectiveness of [...]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 2 announced the approval of iloperidone for the acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adults. [...]

The depressive phase of bipolar disorder accounts for nearly three-quarters of the time experiencing illness. However, there have been few comprehensive analyses comparing the efficacy and safety of available medication [...]

The estimated prevalence of mixed features in depressive and manic/hypomanic episodes in patients with bipolar disorder has ranged anywhere from 11% to 70%. There has been little consensus, however, on [...]

Lithium was the first drug to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of bipolar disorder, back in 1970. Although it's common knowledge that the Australian [...]

* Researchers used both between- and within-individual analyses to compare the effects of treatments for bipolar disorder on rates of suicide, self-harm, and psychiatric hospital admission. * Lithium was associated with lower rates of suicide and self-harm compared with absence of lithium treatment, while those treated with antipsychotics had a higher rate of suicide than those not receiving antipsychotic treatment. * Lithium, valproate, and other mood stabilizers were associated with lower rates of psychiatric hospital admission compared with non-treatment in within-individual analyses., Lithium was associated with lower rates of suicide, self-harm, and psychiatric hospital readmission among individuals with bipolar disorder, according to a cohort study that compared the effects of mood stabilizers [...]

There is limited information on the safe use of drugs in pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers. While lithium is highly effective in the treatment of patients with bipolar disorder, concerns [...]

Classification: Mood stabilizer. Common usage: Lithium is indicated for the treatment of bipolar disorder (manic depression) in adults and in children ages 12 and older. The safety and effectiveness of [...]

Lithium has demonstrated superior results in the treatment of bipolar disorder in adults, but there have been few studies of its effectiveness in children and adolescents, and the studies that [...]

The approval of several second-generation antipsychotics for the treatment of bipolar disorder in the 1990s and 2000s led to documented increases in prescribing in some European countries, but there has [...]

* There are few studies available to guide the treatment of acute bipolar depression. A systematic meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind controlled trials found that mood stabilizer monotherapy was just as effective as combination therapy. * Mood stabilizers are moderately effective for acute bipolar depression. More study of existing and novel agents is required., In a meta-analysis of 18 studies, treatment with mood stabilizer monotherapy for acute bipolar depression was found to be superior to placebo, and was equally as effective as combination or [...]

Lithium has demonstrated effectiveness as an adjunctive treatment in cases of treatment-resistant depression, but its effects more broadly in the treatment of acute or recurrent depression remain unclear. Some reviews [...]

* The Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT), in conjunction with the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, released its latest guidelines for management of bipolar disorder. * Recommendations for the management of acute mania remain mostly unchanged. New data is presented on treatment for 2nd and 3rd line treatment options, for treatment of bipolar depression and for the prevention of mood events., In 2005, the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) published revised guidelines for the management of bipolar disorder, followed by an update in 2007. This present update is [...]

Fundamental holes in the clinical research hinder the treatment of bipolar depression, according to Andrew A. Nierenberg, M.D., Medical Director of the Bipolar Clinic and Research Program and Associate Director [...]

Divalproex may not be any more effective than lithium in treating patients with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder. This is one of the conclusions drawn from a 20-month, double-blind maintenance trial which [...]

CLASSIFICATION: Mood stabilizer. COMMON USAGE: Lithium is indicated for the treatment of bipolar disorder (manic depression) in adults and children ages 12 and older. Safety and effectiveness have not been [...]

CLASSIFICATION: Atypical antipsychotic; mood stabilizer. COMMON USAGE: Oral olanzapine has FDA-approved indications for the treatment of schizophrenia and for the short-term treatment of acute manic or mixed episodes associated with [...]

On November 20, 2009, the FDA approved Geodon (ziprasidone HCI) capsules for maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder as an adjunct to lithium or valproate in adults. [www. [...]

CLASSIFICATION: Antiepileptic, mood stabilizer. COMMON USAGE: Divalproex sodium has an FDA-approved indication for the treatment of manic disorders associated with bipolar disorder in adults. The safety and effectiveness of divalproex [...]

Evidence to guide the treatment of older adults with bipolar disorder is limited, with little data available on the effects of lithium or divalproex specifically on older patients. A new [...]

Lamotrigine (Lamictal®) isa relatively new antiepi leptic agent. In addition to its therapeutic use in treatment of epilepsy, lamotrigine is currently under evaluation for potential use in management of bipolar [...]

A new form of orally disintegrating olanzapine(Zyprexa) that dissolves in the mouth on contact with saliva is available from Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis. The new formulation, Zyprexa Zydis, [...]

A new long-term study comparing divalproex(Depakote) with lithium (Eskalith and others) for treating patients with bipolar I disorder indicates that the treatments did not differ significantly for the time to [...]

The FDA recently approved the antipsychotic olanzapine (Zyprexa) for the short-term treatment of acute mania in bipolar disorder. Although atypical antipsychotics have been used off-label to treat acute mania in [...]

Tamoxifen (Nolvadex), the non-steroidal antiestrogen drug used to treat or prevent breast cancer, may be effective in treating acute mania in patients with bipolar disorder. Although the report is small [...]

# Patients: I man, 63 y/o Medication: venlafaxine (Effexor) Comments: Patient with 45-year history of bipolar treatment received nefazodone (Serzone) for depression, 200 mg twice daily for eight months with [...]

Patients with bipolar disorder show an estimated 20% to 60% rate of non-adherence to their psychotropic medications. Less is known about how this differs from their adherence rates for other [...]

CLASSIFICATION: Atypical antipsychotic. COMMON USAGE: Risperidone has FDA-approved indications for the following: 1) treatment of schizophrenia in adults; 2) short-term treatment of acute mania or mixed episodes associated with bipolar [...]

In a study investigating which anti-manic agent to use first in medication-naive children and adolescents with bipolar I disorder, risperidone (Risperdal) was significantly more effective than lithium or divalproex (Depakote). [...]

Pharmacologic treatments for bipolar disorder ameliorate cognitive dysfunction by reducing mood symptoms, but also can adversely affect cognition as a result of anticholinergic, extrapyramidal, and other effects. No medication for [...]

CLASSIFICATION: Anticonvulsant COMMON USAGE: Oxcarbazepine is indicated for use as monotherapy or adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial seizures (a subtype of epilepsy) in adults and as monotherapy in [...]

In a new report on the effects of quetiapine (Seroquel) on quality of life (QOL) improvements in adults with bipolar depression, Endicott and colleagues write that despite the obvious impact [...]

Classification: Antiepileptic, mood stabilizer. Common Usage: Divalproex has an FDA-approved indication for the treatment of manic disorders associated with bipolar disorder in adults. It is also indicated in adults for [...]

An open-label trial of rivastigmine (Exelon) and galantamine (Reminyl) in 24 patients with bipolar disorder with cognitive deficits found that these drugs may enhance cognitive performance in this population. The [...]

A group of researchers with the 'Ziprasidone in Mania Study Group' have conducted a three-week trial of ziprasidone (Geodon) in 210 patients with primary DSM-IV diagnoses of bipolar I disorder [...]

In a double blind, placebo-controlled pilot study, Frances R. Frankenburg, M.D., and Mary C. Zanarini, Ed. D., compared the efficacy and safety of divalproex (Depakote, Depakene) and placebo for the [...]